I often hear complaints about how expensive lawyers are, and we understand. The rule of thumb usually is you get what you pay for. Sometimes that’s not always the case when it comes to lawyers. You can find a good lawyer and not have to take a second mortgage out on you house, and I believe that our office does what we can to keep your fees at a minimum.
What are some of the ways that we can keep your fees down? Utilizing junior lawyers, paralegals and of course, law clerks, when we can. We also have a range of flat fees for services which can keep the costs to a minimum, and that way there are no surprises at the end. We also offer flat fees on our Small Claims Court matters. Of course, we can’t help having to pay the government their taxes, or for the disbursements incurred.
Another way that we can attempt to keep your legal fees to a minimum is to capitalize on what gets awarded back to you in costs.
In an action, it’s always best practice to get an Offer to Settle out there. When costs are awarded at the end of a Trial, the Judge will want to see the Offers that are at play. If you served the other party with an Offer, and at Trial you got what was in that Offer, you are entitled to get your full costs back.
On the flip side of that, if you lose at Trial but you offered to the other party what they won, it will cap what you have to pay them in legal fees to 60%.
When we are seeking instructions to serve an Offer, just remember that we have you and your pocketbook in our best interests.
Christine Allan, Law Clerk